Daily Inter Lake | July 4, 2023 7:00 AM
A seven-person jury found last week that non-profit clinic Center for Asbestos Related Disease is guilty of submitting hundreds of false asbestos claims.
The decision was made on the evening of Wednesday, June 28, after jurors began deliberating at about 12:30 p.m.
Railroad giant BNSF brought the suit on behalf of the United States government against CARD under the False Claims Act. The jury determined that damages to the federal government are $1,081,265.
CARD Executive Director Tracy McNew said the clinic intends to appeal the case.
In the trial, attorneys for CARD argued the clinic signed people up for Social Security and Medicare benefits by diagnosing Asbestos Related Diseases under the clinic's interpretation of the Affordable Care Act. Benefits included early access to Medicare and enrollment in the Medicare Pilot Program – a program that helps disabled individuals pay for everyday tasks, such as snow removal.
Lawyers for BNSF alleged CARD knowingly misinterpreted the law, which resulted in hundreds of people enrolled in these programs who should not have qualified.
When CARD submitted these patients to the Social Security Administration, it approved them. The jury has now found this practice fraudulent.
"Fraud is, by its very nature, self-concealing, but the truth slowly came out," said Adam Duerk, who represented the railroad.
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